Device for disintegrating and separating tobacco mass



July 23, 1940. E. R. DAHLSTROM ET! AL 2,208,895

DEVICE FOR DISINTEGRATING- AND SEPARATING TOBACCO MASS Filed Sept. 13,1938 2 Sheets-$heet 1 u n u n n n m July 23, 1940- R. DAHLSTROM ET AL2,208,896

DEVICE FOR DISINTEGRATING AND SEPARATING TOBACCO MASS Filed Sept. 13,1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Patented. July 23, 1940.

PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR DISINTEGRATING AND SEPA- RATING TOBACCO-DIASSErnst Ruben Dahlstriim, Alsten, and Carl Georg Bertil Rothelius,Stockholm, Sweden, assignors to Aktiebolaget Formator, Stockholm,Sweden, a joint-stock company of Sweden Application September 13, 1938,Serial No. 229,790

In Germany July 1'7, 1937 5 Claims. (Cl. 131146) This invention relatesto a device for disintegrating and separating tobacco mass, and it is anobject of the invention to provide simple,

inexpensive and efficient means for separating dust and other smallimpurities from the air utilized for the separating process and withoutappreciable loss of aroma of the tobacco mass.

Still another object of our invention is to provide simple, inexpensiveand efiicient means for all preventing dust and other impurities fromescaping from the disintegrating means out into the work-room andcausing unsanitary contamination of the air therein.

These and further objects will more fully appear in the followingspecification.

One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which-- Fig. l is an elevational sectional view of a deviceembodying the invention, taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a sectional line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the device.

plan View taken on the Referring to the drawings, a layer of tobaccoleaves to be disintegrated is continually fed by a conveyor belt 1 belowan upwardly yielding pressing roller 2 and introduced into adisintegrating chamber 3 in which is arranged a revolving breaker drum 4which has rows of teeth 33 coacting in-transit with a stationary row ofteeth 3|, so as to crush the tobacco leaves and disintegrate same intostem parts and parts of lamina. The mass thus disintegrated dropsthrough a lattice 5 onto :an inclined jigger 6 which forms the bottomofa chamber 33 and is reciprocated by means of an eccentric 32. Therebythe tobacco mass is conveyed towards and through an inlet opening I intoan upwardly extending air-channel 8 for separating the tobacco mass, soas to remove stem parts therefrom by gravity. Air is supplied to thechannel 8 by a fan 3 and stem parts separate from the ascending tobaccomass and drop through an adjustable opening" l into a receptacle 34.Some tobacco mass still not freed from stem parts will return through anadjustable opening 35 and a channel I: and drop onto the jigger 6. Theparts of lamina freed from stem parts will together with dust and airsaturatedwith aroma leave the air-channel 8 through its upper outlet 36and enter a chamber I3 and escape through a bottom outlet opening i2 ofsaid chamber. A receptacle I4 is arranged below the outlet opening [2 toreceive lamina descending through the chamber I3. I

The lower part of the chamber I3 is embraced by a suction chamber 15which has a horizontal U-shaped slot l6 forming a suction opening whichembraces the outlet opening 12 of the chamber 13. The suction chamber I5is connected to two opposite suction openings 2| of the fan 9 by theintermediary of two lateral openings l9 and two relatively large dustcollecting chambers 20. 10 At each opening 2| a shutter 40 is providedadapted to adjust the flow of air through said openings. Both theshutters 40 are secured to a rotatably journalled shaft 4|, extendingthrough the housing of the device. At one side of the 16 device, a handwheel 42 is secured to the shaft.

The shutters 40 have a slot 43, through which the shaft 44 of the fan 9extends. The shaft 44 is rotatably journalled in hubs 63, supported byspiders within the openings 2|. Furthermore, 20 the chambers 20communicate each through an opening 24 with the chamber 33 and, throughanother opening with another chamber 36 below the jigger 6. Furthermore,one of the chambers 211 communicates through a pipe 22 25 with a chamberformed by hood 23 which covers the inlet side of the disintegratingchamber 3 and part of the means for feeding tobacco leaves thereto.

The drum 4 is securedto a rotatably journalled shaft 45, to which issecured a pulley 46. A

motor 5'! drives by means of a pulley 41 and a rope 48 the pulley 46,which is secured to the shaft 45 of the drum 4. Still another pulley 49is secured to the shaft 45 and drives by means ofla rope 50 and pulley5| a shaft 52, to which is secured one of the rollers 60, over which theconveyor belt I runs. To the shaft 52 is secured still another pulley6!. A rope 53, running over the pulley 6i and over another pulley .54,drives the shaft 55 to which the eccentric 32 is secured. To the shaft56, of the motor 51 is securedstill another pulley 58, which by means ofa rope 62 drives a pulley 59, secured to the fan. shaft 44.

.. In operation, aroma, dust and other small pardust and valuable aromafrom the tobacco inlet 5 and said chambers into the work-room will beprevented, and without providing any separate vacuum-cleaner.

Due to their gravity and velocity leaf parts descending through thechamber l3 and escaping throughits outlet opening I2 will be thrownfurther downwards and settle in the receptacle M whilst air saturatedwith aroma together with dust and other small light impurities will flowaside from the outlet opening [2 and enter the suction opening I6 of thesuction chamber 15 and be sucked into the chambers 20, in which thevelocity of the flow of air is reduced materially. Thus the dust andother impurities conveyed from the hood 23, the chambers 33 and 36 aswell as from the suction chamber !5 will settle in the chambers, 21! andthe cleaned air saturated with aroma will be introduced into the fan 2!.By the arrangement of the suction chamber l5 outside the opening l2 asatisfactory separation of tobacco from the air saturated with aroma anddust will be obtained Without the use of sieves or the like that arelikely to be clogged by lamina adhering thereto.

We claim:

1. Ina device for disintegrating and separating tobacco mass, a tobaccoleaf disintegrator, an air-channel adapted for receiving and separatingdisintegrated tobacco mass to remove stem parts therefrom, saidair-channel extending up wards and having an upper outlet for laminafreed from stem parts, a chamber positioned within said device toreceive dust from the disof said air-channel and having a bottom outletfor lamina conveyed by the air from said airchannel into said otherchamber, another suction conduit opening slightly beyond said bottomoutlet of said other chamber and being connected to the suction side ofsaid fan, said other suction conduit forming togetherwith said fan, saidair-channel and said other chamber a cirsuit for air flow, and a dustcollector arranged in said air-circuit;

2. In a device for disintegrating and separating tobacco mass, a tobaccoleaf disintegrator, an air-channel adapted for receiving and separatingdisintegrated tobacco mass toremove stem parts therefrom, said airchannel extending upwards and having an upper outlet for lamina "freedfrom stem parts, a chamber positioned within said device to receive dustfrom the disintegrated tobacco mass before said mass enters saidair-channeL a fan forprojecting air into said air-channel, adust'suction conduit connecting said chamber with the suction side ofsaid fan, another chamber connected to said outlet of said air-channeland having a bottom outlet for lamina conveyed by the air from saidairchannel into said other chamber, a leaf collector beneath said bottomoutlet, another suction conduit connecting said leaf collector with thesuction side of said fanwhich together with said airchannel, said otherchamber, said leaf collector and said other suction conduit forms acircuit for air flow, and a dust collector arranged in said air-circuit.

3. In a device for disintegrating and separating tobacco mass, a tobaccoleaf disintegrator having an inlet side for supplying tobacco leaves tosaid disintegrator, an air-channel adapted for receiving and separatingdisintegrated tobacco mass to remove stem parts therefrom and beingconnected to a downwardly directed outlet for lamina separated from thestems, means for feeding tobacco mass from said disintegrator to saidair-channel, a fan having a suction side connected to said inlet side ofsaid disintegrator and to a suction opening located laterally of andadjacent to said outlet, an air-circuit adapted to pass air from saidfan through said air-channel and said suction opening and back to saidfan, and a dust collector arranged in said aircircuit.

4. In a device for disintegrating and separatingrtobacco mass, a tobaccoleaf disintegrator having an inlet side for supplying tobacco leaves tosaid disintegrator, an air-channel adapted for receiving and separatingdisintegrated tobacco mass .to remove stem parts therefrom and beingconnected to a downwardly directed outlet for lamina separated from thestems, a chamber between said disintegrator and said air-channel, meansfor conveying disintegrated tobacco mass through said chamber from saiddisintegrator to said air-channel, a fan having a suction side connectedto said chamber and to said inlet side of said disintegratcrand to asuction opening located laterally of and adjacent to said outlet, anair-circuit adapted to pass air from said fan through said air-channeland said suction opening and back to said fan, and a dust collectorarranged in said air-circuit.

In a device for disintegrating and separating tobacco mass, a tobaccoleaf disintegrator, an air-channel for receiving and separatingdisintegrated tobacco mass to remove stem parts therefrom, saidair-channel having a downwardly directed outlet for lamina and dustseparated from the stems, a lamina collecting chamber into which saidoutlet opens, said lamina collecting chamber having a suction outlet, afan for projecting air into said air-channel, a suction conduitconnecting said suction outlet of the lamina collecting chamber with thesuction side of said fan, said air-channel and said suctionccnduitforming part of a closed air-circuit adapted to pass air fromsaid fan through said air-channel and said suction opening of the laminacollecting chamber andback to said fan, a dust collector arranged insaid air-circuit, another chamber arranged in said device adjacent thepath of the tobacco mass for receiving dust separated from the massbefore the mass has entered said air-channel, and a suction conduitconnec'tingsaid other chamber with the suction side of thefan.

ERNST RUBEN DAHLsTRoM. CARL GEORG BERTIL ROTI-IELIUS.

